It was written by Brett McKay, a
guest on today's podcast and founder of the Art of Manliness, a website which I
religiously read. In one section of Semper Virilis, Brett
introduces Theodore Roosevelt.

This struck close to my heart,
since Roosevelt was one of my favorite Presidents (and from a
physical virility and workout standpoint, in pretty stark contrast
to this
guy). Here's what Brett has to say about Roosevelt:

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"...Theodore Roosevelt was born to a wealthy
family in New York City. The Roosevelts enjoyed comforts and
conveniences in their 19th century brownstone that most Americans
wouldn’t see until several decades later. When the Civil War tore
America apart, Teddy’s father had more than enough money to pay for
a substitute and thus avoid a draft into the Union Army.

If you
were to judge the trajectory of TR’s life based on the first ten
years of it, you’d probably guess that he’d end up as a smart and
capable, but physically weak, natural history professor at some Ivy
League university. Roosevelt could have easily settled into a life
of cosmopolitan comfort.

His
adolescence was spent exercising and building up his once frail
body. He took up boxing in college and became a competitive
fighter. During winter breaks in school, he’d go up to Maine and
hunt with the famous guide and timberman
Bill Sewell. After his wife and mother died on the
same night, instead of wallowing in grief and despair,
Roosevelt headed out to the badlands of the Dakotas to take up
cattle ranching. Despite being a four-eyed “dude” from back east,
Roosevelt quickly earned the respect of rough and hard cowboys by
showing he could pull his own weight and wasn’t afraid to jump into
the fray: he cleared out stables himself without complaint; he
captured a posse of horse thieves after tailing them for 3 days in
subzero weather; he knocked out a gun-wielding loudmouth with 3
dynamite punches.

By
striving to live the hard way in his younger years, Roosevelt armed
himself with the fire and fight he needed to succeed in the
political, social, and intellectual challenges of his later life.
Even as a middle-aged U.S. president, Roosevelt didn’t let up on
his dedication to testing himself and living the strenuous life; he
took part in judo and boxing matches in the White House and
punctuated his schedule with hunting, skinny dips in the Potomac,
and brisk hikes. He stayed ever ready for whatever adventures and
exploits might await him.

And what
exploits they were. Roosevelt served as police commissioner,
governor, assistant secretary of the navy, and president (the
youngest ever to assume the office). When war broke out with Spain
in Cuba, Roosevelt put together his own volunteer unit and
led them in a charge up San Juan
Hill. He was a devoted husband and father of six
children. He read tens of thousands of books and penned 35 of his
own. After his days as President were over, he set out on an
expedition to explore an uncharted part of the Amazon River and nearly died in the
process.

All
throughout his life, Roosevelt had the choice to reject the
masculine code, but he never did. He sought to ever challenge
himself “in the arena” and to always “carry
his own pack.”

Some
historical commentators chalk up Roosevelt’s obsession with the
strenuous life to a symptom of the “male anxiety” that many 19th
century urban men faced in America. It was the age of machines and
steam and a man’s place in society was being questioned: What was
the use of masculine strength when new machines could do the work
of twenty men? With the frontier closed, what use was there for the
old pioneer qualities of ruggedness and self-reliance?

Sound
familiar?

Roosevelt
and other men of his time ignored the hand-wringing and
deliberately chose to live by the code of men even though it wasn’t
demanded of them.

I think
that’s why I and so many modern men admire Teddy Roosevelt. He
showed that it’s possible to live in our modern world of luxury and
comfort, but not be softened by it. He showed us that you could
proactively choose to be good at being a man even when your
surroundings or culture aren’t conducive to exercising your innate
masculinity.

In short,
TR showed us that it’s possible to live in civilization
but not be of it..."

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Good stuff.This is the kind of writing that inspires me to
go do sandbags, car pushes, tire flips and sledgehammers - which
new research shows gets you just as much
results as hitting the fancy Nautilus machines at the health
club (and is way more fun).

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